Rastriya Swatantra Party candidate Ranju Neupane (Darshana) is closing in on victory as vote counting nears completion on Friday morning.

Chief Returning Officer Churaman Khadka said ballots from only 13 polling centres remain to be counted. “Votes from 44 polling centres have already been counted,” he said. “We are preparing to complete the process soon. The final result should come within two hours.”

So far, 23,227 votes have been counted. Neupane has secured 12,842 votes, while her closest rival, Nepali Congress candidate Prabal Thapa, has received 5,216 votes.